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The Nature of God's Character Across Old and New Testaments

The Hebrew Scriptures present God through a constellation of names that encode his character: El (the Strong One), Elohim (a plural form used throughout the canon), and Yahweh (rendered "LORD" in English translations), each emphasizing different facets of the divine nature [2]. These names are not arbitrary labels but theological declarations. When Moses encounters God at Sinai, the self-revelation comes in relational terms: "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6). This proclamation became foundational for Israel's understanding of God's character, emphasizing not sovereignty or justice in isolation, but grace as the defining attribute [14]. The Hebrew word chesed, translated "unfailing love" or "steadfast love," appears repeatedly as the most frequent descriptor of God's dealings with his covenant people [11].

The Old Testament does not present God's mercy and justice as competing attributes requiring balance, but as integrated expressions of a single coherent character. Psalm 103:17 declares that "the kindness of Jehovah is from age even unto age on those fearing Him, and His righteousness to sons' sons" [6], linking covenant faithfulness across generations with both mercy and righteousness. Micah 7:18-20 provides what one commentary calls "a fine brief summary of Old Testament theology," asking "Where is another God like you?" precisely because God's chesed means he does not destroy his judged people but restores them [8]. This restoration is grounded not in human merit but in God's faithfulness, which means "he can be trusted to do good regardless of the cost to himself" [8].

The Continuity Question

The claim that God's character shifts between testaments rests on selective reading. The Old Testament repeatedly emphasizes divine compassion: God is described as "slow to anger" in contexts of judgment, and his holiness is presented not as capricious wrath but as the standard that makes worship possible [3, 5]. The motives for godly fear listed in Scripture include not only God's greatness but "the goodness of God" and "the forgiveness of God" [5]. Meanwhile, the New Testament preserves the full range of divine attributes. Christ himself is described as "altogether lovely," "holy," "righteous," "faithful," and "true" [1]—terms that echo Old Testament descriptions of Yahweh. The character of Christ becomes "the standard" for holiness in believers, just as "the character of God" served that function under the old covenant [3].

Reformed theology has consistently argued for the unity of God's self-revelation across both testaments. Calvin observed that the Old Testament saints, though living under types and shadows, genuinely encountered God's favor through those temporal blessings, which served as "emblems" of spiritual realities [7]. Charles Hodge articulated the orthodox position that Christ possesses both "a perfect human and a perfect divine nature" in one person, and that the Old Testament already set him forth as "the seed of Abraham," "a man of sorrows," and "meek and lowly" [9]. The incarnation does not introduce a new divine character but reveals in human form the same God who walked with Israel.

Patristic Witness

Early Christian theologians explicitly defended the identity of the God of Israel with the Father of Jesus Christ. One patristic text states plainly: "The God of the Law and the Prophets, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the same God" [15]. This was not a peripheral claim but central to the church's rejection of Marcionite dualism, which posited separate deities for each testament. The church fathers argued that God's "peculiar attributes cannot belong to the nature of any other," and that his unbounded nature means no rival deity could exist alongside him [10]. The doctrine of the Trinity, they maintained, does not fragment God's character but describes the mutual relations within a single divine nature [15].

The Westminster Confession affirms that while "the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence" manifest God's "goodness, wisdom, and power," these are insufficient for salvation, necessitating special revelation [13]. Yet this revelation, whether in Moses or in Christ, discloses the same God. The confession's emphasis on progressive revelation does not imply progressive improvement in God's character, but increasing clarity in how that unchanging character is made known to creatures.

Theological Implications

The doctrine of divine immutability requires that God's essential character remain constant. If God were "slow to anger" in one era and quick to wrath in another, or merciful under one covenant and severe under another, his nature would be contingent on historical circumstance. Scripture instead presents God's actions as flowing from a stable character: his judgments express the same holiness that his mercies reveal, and both are manifestations of covenant faithfulness. The cross does not represent God changing his mind about sin, but the costliest expression of the same chesed that spared Israel in the wilderness.

Human perception of God's character may shift as revelation progresses, but the object of that revelation does not. The Old Testament believer who trusted in God's chesed and the New Testament believer who trusts in Christ's finished work are trusting the same divine faithfulness. The image of God in humanity, though marred by sin, was never "wholly blotted out" even in unbelievers [12], which suggests that the capacity to recognize God's character persists across covenantal epochs. The new birth, "effected by God" through the Spirit and the Word [4], does not create a new deity to worship but opens eyes to see clearly the God who has been faithful from the beginning.

Sources

  1. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Christ, Character Of — Altogether lovely -- Song 5:16. Holy -- Lu 1:35; Ac 4:27; Re 3:7. Righteous -- Isa 53:11; Heb 1:9. Good -- Mt 19:16. Faithful -- Isa 11:5; 1Th 5:24. True -- Joh 1:14; 7:18; 1Jo 5:20. Just -- Zec 9:9; Joh 5:30; Ac 22:14. Guileless -- Isa 53:9; 1Pe 2:22. Sinless -- Joh 8:46; 2Co 5:21. Spotless -- 1Pe 1:19. Innocent -- Mt 27:4. Harmless -- Heb 7:26. Resisting temptation -- Mt 4:1-10. Obedient to God the Father -- Ps 40:8; Joh 4:34; 15:10. Zealous -- Lu 2:49; Joh 2:17; 8:29. Meek -- Isa 53:7; Zec 9:9; Mt 11:29. Lowly in heart -- Mt 11:29. Merciful ”
  2. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: God — (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argume”
  3. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Holiness — Commanded -- Le 11:45; 20:7; Eph 5:8; Col 3:12; Ro 12:1. Christ Desires for his people. -- Joh 17:17. Effects, in his people. -- Eph 5:25-27. An example of. -- Heb 7:26; 1Pe 2:21,22. The character of God, the standard of -- Le 19:2; 1Pe 1:15,16; Eph 5:1. The character of Christ, the standard of -- Ro 8:29; 1Jo 2:6; Php 2:5. The gospel the way of -- Isa 35:8. Necessary to God's worship -- Ps 24:3,4. None shall see God without -- Eph 5:5; Heb 12:14. Saints Elected to. -- Ro 8:29; Eph 1:4. Called to. -- 1Th 4:7; 2Ti 1:9. New created in. -- Eph 4:24. Possess. ”
  4. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: New Birth, The — The corruption of human nature requires -- Joh 3:6; Ro 8:7,8. None can enter heaven without -- Joh 3:3. Effected by God. -- Joh 1:13; 1Pe 1:3. Christ. -- 1Jo 2:29. The Holy Spirit. -- Joh 3:6; Tit 3:5. Through the instrumentality of The word of God. -- Jas 1:18; 1Pe 1:23. The resurrection of Christ. -- 1Pe 1:3. The ministry of the gospel. -- 1Co 4:15. Is of the will of God -- Jas 1:18. Is of the mercy of God -- Tit 3:5. Is for the glory of God -- Isa 43:7. Described as A new creation. -- 2Co 5:17; Ga 6:15; Eph 2:10. Newness of life. -- Ro 6:4. A spir”
  5. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Fear, Godly — God is the object of -- Isa 8:13. God is the author of -- Jer 32:39,40. Searching the Scriptures gives the understanding of -- Pr 2:3-5. Described as Hatred of evil. -- Pr 8:13. Wisdom. -- Job 28:28; Ps 111:10. A treasure to saints. -- Pr 15:16; Isa 33:6. A fountain of life. -- Pr 14:27. Sanctifying. -- Ps 19:9. Filial and reverential. -- Heb 12:9,28. Commanded -- De 13:4; Ps 22:23; Ec 12:13; 1Pe 2:17. Motives to The holiness of God. -- Re 15:4. The greatness of God. -- De 10:12,17. The goodness of God. -- 1Sa 12:24. The forgiveness of God. -- Ps 130:4.”
  6. Psalms “Psalms 103:17 (YLT) — And the kindness of Jehovah <FI>Is<Fi> from age even unto age on those fearing Him, And His righteousness to sons' sons,”
  7. CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 47: mortal life and its blessings than would now be meet. For, though they well knew, that in their race they were not to halt at it as the goal, yet, perceiving that the Lord, in accommodation to their feebleness, had there imprinted the lineaments of his favour, it gave them greater delight than it could have done if considered only in itself. For, as the Lord, in testifying his good will 390 towards believers by means of present blessings, then exhibited spiritual felicity under types and emblems, so, on the other hand, by temporal ”
  8. Micah (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Micah 7:18: 7:18-20 These verses provide a fine brief summary of Old Testament theology. God is unique; there is no one and nothing else like him. Because of his unfailing love (Hebrew khesed), he does not destroy his people whom he judges but instead restores them (see Exod 36:6-7). His faithfulness means that he can be trusted to do good regardless of the cost to himself (see Ps 89:1-2). • Where is another God like you: This question probably plays off of Micah’s name (“Who is like the Lord?”). God’s character is unequaled among the gods of the nations. His actions and words”
  9. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 78: human and a perfect divine nature, and is one person, the Bible teaches the whole doctrine of the incarnation as it has entered into the faith of the Church from the beginning. Second Argument, from the Current Representations of Scripture. The current language of Scripture concerning Christ proves that He was at once divine and human. In the Old Testament, He is set forth as the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Judah anti the family of David; as to be born of a virgin in the town of Bethlehem; as a man of sorrows; as meek and lowly; as b”
  10. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 8: Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts, Epistles, Apocrypha, Decretals — CHAP. XVII.--THE NATURE OF GOD.: "We call Him God whose peculiar attributes cannot belong to the nature of any other; for, as He is called the Unbounded because He is boundless on every side, it must of necessity be the case that it is no other one's peculiar attribute to be called unbounded, as another cannot in like manner be boundless. But if any one says that it is possible, he is wrong; for two things boundless on every side cannot co-exist, for the one is bounded by the other. Thus it is in the nature(5) of things t”
  11. Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 15:13: 15:13-18 The people God has redeemed have confidence for the future. In light of what the Lord had done in rescuing Israel from his enemies, there was no question that he would be able to carry through on his promise to take them safely into the Promised Land. 15:13 In light of God’s unfailing love and his might, there is no reason to doubt that he will be able to keep his promises. “Unfailing love” is a translation of the Hebrew word khesed, which speaks of the undeserved kindness and loyalty of a superior to an inferior. It is the most frequent descriptor of Go”
  12. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 48.--THE IMAGE OF GOD IS NOT WHOLLY BLOTTED OUT IN THESE UNBELIEVERS; VENIAL SINS. (part 1): According to some, however, they who do by nature the things contained in the law must not be regarded as yet in the number of those whom Christ's grace justifies, but rather as among those some of whose actions (although they are those of ungodly men, who do not truly and rightly worship the true God) we not only cannot blame, but even justly and rightly praise, since they have been done--so far as we read, or know, or hear--according to the rule of right”
  13. Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed) “Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed, 1646), CHAPTER 1 (part 1): CHAPTER 1 Of the Holy Scripture 1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men unexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation. Therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his church; and afterwards, for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more ”
  14. Exodus (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Exodus 34:6: 34:6 compassion and mercy (see 20:5-6; 33:19 and study notes): The Creator who was revealing himself to the Israelites, and through them to the world, is a God of grace. Neither his justice nor his sovereignty are underlined here, as true as those attributes are. If God were merely just, the Old Testament would have ended at this point, or it would have picked up and started again with an entirely new family. This did not happen because God, in his unique character, is slow to anger and full of unfailing love and faithfulness. These qualities were the basis for hi”
  15. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. IV.--THE GOD OF THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS, AND THE FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IS THE SAME GOD. (part 6): the Holy Spirit, in their mutual relations with one another. For the nature of the Trinity surpasses the measure of vision, granting to those who are in the body, i.e., to all other creatures, the property of vision in reference to one another. But to a nature that is incorporeal and for the most part intellectual, no other attribute is appropriate save that of knowing or being known, as the Saviour Himself dec”
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